


drunk in love

by Springsteen



Series: open all night [9]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 12:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7361755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Springsteen/pseuds/Springsteen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dex somehow gets stuck walking a very drunk Nursey back to his dorm after a kegster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	drunk in love

Despite his reputation as being uptight, Dex liked going to kegsters as much as everybody else on the team. It was just that sometimes, he needed a break from the constant energy of the party. He’d been out on the porch, getting some fresh air and talking to a couple guys from one of the frats down the street. He finished the last of his beer and figured it was worth it to fight through the crowd to get another drink. 

He barely made it through the door before being accosted. “There you are!” Holster yelled.

“Been looking for you,” Ransom half-sang. 

“Taking care of your fellow d-man is a time-honored tradition at Samwell,” Holster said. Dex knew where this was going and he didn’t like it, but it was too late to escape. 

“Deeeeeex!” Nursey said. His arms were draped over Ransom and Holster’s shoulders. All three of them were swaying slightly. 

“A d-partner relationship is built on trust and mutual respect,” Holster continued. He was incredibly composed for someone Dex had seen doing shots with Ollie and Wicks ten minutes ago. 

“That’s great,” Dex said, “I’m just gonna get another beer now.”

“But Dex!” Nursey interrupted. “’m tired. Holster said he’d make sure you took me home.” 

Dex knew, theoretically, that it would be wrong to murder his captains. That didn’t stop him from glaring murderously at Ransom and Holster, who shrugged in unison. “You never stay that late anyway,” Ransom said. “And you’re sober enough to make sure he doesn’t fall in the river or anything.”

Dex sighed. “Fine, yeah, let’s go.” Without warning, Nursey pitched forward, throwing both his arms around Dex’s neck. Dex stumbled under the sudden weight, thinking he was both not drunk and not sober enough for this.

“Text us when you get home!” Holster yelled as Dex attempted to steer Nursey through the party and out the door. Nursey did absolutely nothing to help, barely dragging his feet across the floor. He still clung to Dex’s neck.

“Dude,” Dex said. “If you wanna make it all the way across campus, you gotta walk. I know it’s hard for you when you’re sober, but you gotta try.”

“Noooo,” Nursey said, his head lolling against Dex’s shoulder. “Carry me.”

Dex frowned down at Nursey. “Definitely not. What were you even doing?”

Nursey sighed. His arms slipped around his neck, so Dex put an arm around his waist to keep him upright. His whole left side burned where Nursey was pressed against him. “Playing pong ‘gainst Farmer and Lardo. Farmer’slike, so good. Scary.”

“Oh, God,” Dex said. Since Shitty graduated, Dex had seen Lardo team up with Farmer and wipe the floor with just about everybody who was foolish enough to challenge them. Chowder had become their personal cheerleader.

“Was bad,” Nursey said. “Fun, but bad.” He started leaning away from Dex. Dex grabbed Nursey’s hand where it was still around his shoulders and held on, trying to stop Nursey from hitting the ground. After a few attempts, Nursey managed to thread their fingers together. He leaned heavily into Dex’s side so suddenly they stumbled sideways, Nursey’s other arm wrapping around Dex’s hips just above his belt. Really, Dex thought, how much trouble would he get in if he just left Nursey where he landed on the sidewalk? Nursey would be fine, probably. He was a lot to handle, Dex couldn’t really be blamed. He glanced sideways at Nursey. Ransom and Holster would kill him if he ditched Nursey. Plus, he was in no state to take care of himself. 

“Dehhssssss.” Nursey frowned and tried again. “Dekksssssss. Dex, Dex, deck of cards, royal flush, king of hearts, Dex, Dexy, sexy so sexy.” He giggled to himself and turned his head into Dex’s shoulder, still mumbling. Dex tensed as Nursey dragged his hand back and forth across Dex’s abs, up his side, digging his fingers into his ribs.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked. His voice cracked at the end of his question as Nursey’s fingers dragged along the waistband of his jeans. Dex clung to Nursey’s other hand only to stop him from putting it anywhere else on Dex’s body. “Is this some kind of poetry?” 

“You Dex you’re poetry. You’re…s’many poems. All’f’em. All the nice ones.” Nursey stumbled again, his feet tripping into Dex’s. This time, Dex couldn’t keep them upright, and only just managed to steer them onto the grass. Nursey landed on his back. Dex caught himself before he crushed Nursey, rolling onto his back next to him.

“Deeeeeex,” Nursey said, reaching blindly for him. His hand landed smack in the middle of Dex’s chest. “Dex, look a’the stars, so pretty, so spinny.” He rolled to his side and poked repeatedly at Dex’s face. “Staaars.”

“Dude, you are so drunk,” Dex said, trying to swat Nursey’s hands away. 

“Yes,” Nursey agreed. He took a deep breath and grabbed Dex’s face with both his hands. With surprising clarity, he said, “I love you only because it’s you the one I love;/ I hate you deeply, and hating you/ Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you/ Is that I do not see you but love you blindly.”  
Dex stared at him. Nursey was clearly wasted. He had no idea what he was saying. Just because the only lucid thing Nursey had said to him all night was a passionate declaration of love, that didn’t mean anything. It was obviously a poem, it was probably part of Nursey’s homework or something. Dex pulled himself away from him and staggered to his feet.

“Noooo don’t leave me,” Nursey moaned, reaching for Dex’s shoes. “But–but I have loved your feet,/ only because they walked-”

“Stop!” Dex yelled, backing away from Nursey. “Nope! That’s enough!” There were only so many love poems he could take from drunken Nursey. One had been more than enough - it was too much to hope that Nursey would remember this in the morning, that he meant what he was saying, that he even knew what he was saying.

“Are you leaving?” Nursey asked, looking up at him. “Please don’t leave.”

“We are going back to your dorm,” Dex said. “You’re not gonna sleep on Tau Ep’s front lawn.”

“Could sleep here,” Nursey said. “‘Snice. Stars. Grass. You.”

“Nope,” Dex said, despite how easy it would be for him to leave Nursey there and go back to his own nice, warm bed. He leaned over and grabbed Nursey around the chest, pulling him to his feet. “Come on, it’s not that far.”

Once they were on their feet, Nursey immediately curled into Dex. He twitched away, Nursey’s hair tickling his neck and chin. They made their way to Nursey’s dorm stumbling but without further incident. Dex was very thankful he lived in the same building as Nursey, so he used his own student ID to unlock the front door.

“Okay, Nursey,” Dex coaxed, “It’s just stairs, we’re not gonna trip and break anything today.”

“Not gonna trip,” Nursey repeated, “cuz you got my back.”

“Yeah,” Dex said. “Yeah, I got your back, you giant drunken goof.” He steered Nursey out of the stairwell and onto his floor. “Nursey, where are your keys?”

“Mmmm,” Nursey said, eyes closed. “Keys.”

“Yes, we need to unlock your dorm,” Dex said. “I’m not gonna pick it.”

“Can pick locks?” Nursey asked. “Chiiiiiiiill, mad chill, teach me.”

“Oh no,” Dex said. “Not happening. Come on, man, where are your keys?”

“Pocket,” Nursey said, still leaning into Dex and offering absolutely no help in retrieving his keys. Dex narrowed his eyes at him. “Back pocket,” Nursey said helpfully, shifting his ass closer to Dex. 

“Oh my god,” Dex muttered. “You can’t ever make this easy.” Dex reached into Nursey’s back pocket, trying to find his keys.   
Nursey swayed, catching himself on the wall, laughing. “Easy for you,” Nursey said, smirking at him. Dex yanked the keys out of Nursey’s pocket and jammed them into the door. Dex could’ve left right then. He’d gotten Nursey back to his dorm in one piece. He even texted Holster to tell him that, but Nursey was still leaning against the wall in the hallway, watching Dex.

“Come on,” Dex said, turning on the light. He and Nursey had both managed to get single rooms that year. He went to Nursey’s mini-fridge and got a bottle of water. “Drink this, then go to sleep.” Nursey stumbled to him and took the water bottle Dex opened for him. After knowing him for two years, Dex should’ve seen it coming. Nursey managed to dump half the water all over Dex before drinking the rest. 

“Whoops,” Nursey said, pawing at Dex in an attempt to dry him off. “Sorry, Dex.”

“It’s fine” Dex said, blushing furiously. “Go to bed.”

Nursey laughed, pulling his shirt over his head. “C’n I take you?” He tried to kick his jeans off, but still had his shoes on. He bent over to take them off and lost his balance. Dex lunged forward, just managing to catch him before he fell on his face.

“You’re such a disaster,” he said. “Sit.” He pushed Nursey back onto his bed and knelt down. “Do not kick me in the face.” 

As he pulled Nursey’s shoes off, Nursey clumsily stroked his hair. “‘re so nice,” he said. “Why aren’ you li’this all th’time?”

Dex looked up at him. Nursey was watching him with half-closed eyes, his grey-green eyes intense even when they were unfocused. “Because it’s easier to act like I hate you,” Dex said quietly. He stood up, grabbed another couple of water bottles and a bottle of advil, and set them next to Nursey’s bed. He turned to leave. “Good night, Nursey.”

“No,” Nursey said. He’d managed to kick off his jeans and was lying on his bed on top of the blankets. “Please don’t leave. Stay, sleep.” Dex hovered near the open door. It was entirely possible that Nursey would wake up the next morning and wonder what the fuck he’d been thinking. He might have no idea what he was asking for. They had fallen asleep with their heads on each other’s shoulders on roadies, shared hotel rooms for most of their away games, but this was something else. Innocent enough, but still a line they hadn’t crossed before.

“Are you sure?” Dex asked, his hand on the doorknob. His own room was only a few floors away. There was nothing stopping him, really.

“Mmhmm,” Nursey said. “Want you to stay.”

“Okay,” Dex said softly, closing the door and shutting off the lights. He took off his jeans and draped his damp shirt on the desk chair. He walked over to Nursey’s bed and stopped. Sometimes he forgot how tall they all were, how they had to duck under some doorways and towered over most of the student population. The dorm beds were narrow for one of them; it would be really cramped with two of them. “Move over,” Dex said. Nursey opened his arms to Dex but didn’t move. What the hell, Dex thought. It would be more awkward if he just left at this point. He laid down, letting Nursey wrap his arms around him. Nursey put off a ridiculous amount of body heat, but Dex tried to pull a blanket over them anyways. “If you puke on me, I swear to god I’ll punch you in the throat,” he threatened.

“With your lips?” Nursey asked.

“No,” Dex laughed. He really hoped Nursey couldn’t see how much he was blushing in the dark. “Good night, Nursey.” He curled his hands against Nursey’s chest and closed his eyes.

“Night, sexy Dexy,” Nursey replied, pressing a sloppy kiss to the top of Dex’s head. 

The next morning, Dex woke up to Nursey’s head on his chest, his arm sprawled across the bed keeping Dex in place. Nursey squinted up at him. “Thanks for not letting me die last night,” he said, his voice hoarse. Dex shrugged, the movement jostling Nursey. “No,” he moaned. “Don’t move. I can’t.”

“Are you saying-”

“Shh,” Nursey said, lips brushing Dex’s chest. “Not so loud.”

“That I can’t move until your hangover goes away?” Dex continued at the same volume. He reached behind him and grabbed the water and painkillers he’d set out last night. He pressed the water bottle against Nursey’s back. Nursey jerked, the condensation cold against his skin. 

“You asshole,” he hissed, taking the water and painkillers from him. 

“Yeah, how dare I be prepared,” Dex said. “It’s like I know you.”

“Whatever,” Nursey said. He took the pills and drank the water and immediately put his head back on Dex’s chest. “Think Bitty will bring us waffles?”

“Definitely not,” Dex said. Tentatively, he touched the lines of Nursey’s tattoo. Nursey hummed happily. Dex was surprised by how awkward this wasn’t, by how natural it felt. “I could walk over there and get some, though.”

“Nah,” Nursey said. “Don’t leave.”

“Fine,” Dex sighed. He couldn’t even pretend to be upset about spending the day in bed with Nursey. They would have to move at some point, probably, but that sounded like a problem for later. For now they could lay there, wrapped up in each other in the quiet morning light and for once, not arguing at all.

**Author's Note:**

> fun facts about this fic: 1. this is one of my favorite ficlets. 2. when they're stargazing and nursey is poking dex's face, what he's trying to say is that dex's freckles remind him of the stars. he would be much more poetic about it if he wasn't so drunk 3. the poetry nursey actually recites are [two](http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-do-not-love-you-except-because-i-love-you/) [different](http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/your-feet/) pablo neruda poems.


End file.
